Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The probe into the Rs 4.72 crore gold smuggling case, busted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) with a seizure on the city bypass on Aug 14, has reached the city's Sarafa Bazar.
The DRI has arrested a local bullion trader and his son from Kota, Rajasthan, taking the number of arrests in the case to five. The duo had allegedly fled the city following the DRI action and were hiding in Kota.
The arrests were made on Aug 18, four days after the seizure, but came to light on Saturday. The accused have been identified as Deepak Khandelwal and his son Nakul Khandelwal.
The investigation revealed that the smuggled gold had been transported to the city from Akola, Maharashtra. Authorities are probing the role of people associated with the bullion market in distributing the gold in the city and passing it on to other traders.
During interrogation, the previously arrested accused allegedly revealed that the gold brought from Akola was to be delivered to the Khandelwals in the Tulsi Nagar area.
The DRI subsequently began searching for the duo, who had allegedly fled the city. Their shop in the bullion market was also found closed.
After receiving information that the duo was hiding in Kota, a DRI team reached the city and arrested them. They were brought to Indore on transit remand for further interrogation.
It is learnt that both accused discarded their mobile phones during their arrest in Kota.
The DRI suspects the phones may contain crucial evidence, including contacts, conversations and transaction details linked to the gold smuggling network. The agency is probing whether the phones were deliberately discarded to destroy evidence.
Indore-Mumbai drug trail: Kenyan held
A Kenyan woman travelling by bus from Indore to Mumbai was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Mira Road with 547 grams of cocaine and methaqualone. A Nigerian national allegedly waiting to collect the consignment was also arrested.
Acting on specific information about narcotics movement between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, DRI officers intercepted the woman and found two packets marked LV in her luggage. Field tests confirmed the substance as cocaine and methaqualone.
Both were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The DRI is probing the source of the drugs, others linked to the network and whether the Indore-Mumbai route was regularly used for trafficking.
On Nov 19, the Narcotics Wing of MP police arrested 25-year-old Linda Anaba from Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) with 31 grams of cocaine worth Rs 15 lakh after she allegedly travelled from Mumbai to Indore.
Anaba, who was living in Mumbai's Nalasopara area on a student visa, was booked under the NDPS Act. Officials were probing the source and intended recipient of the drug.
